Page 34 of Black Castle

The ledger isn’t there. Just a mountain of cash in many different currencies.

He scans the safe, but it was untouched, no signs of forced entry, no misplaced items. The sequence of events suggests a simple entry, code input, ledger removal, and departure.

A slow breath escapes him, followed by a sudden, irritating buzz beneath his skin.

A deep breath, then straightening, he closes the safe, appearing unconcerned. Like there isn’t currently chaos in his head.

This ledger is everything. It holds the secret of his empire between the pages. It’s the key to make or destroy everything he has worked for years for. And now it’s just…gone?

He digs his hand into his pocket, pulling out his phone.

“Boss?” Sokolov’s deep voice pierces through the speaker.

“I won’t be able to get the information across to you immediately.” Lucan walks around his desk, rummaging through drawers. Looking for clues. Any clues. “Don’t make any transaction until I call you.”

Maybe he took it out and forgot to put it back?

“Is there a problem, boss?” Sokolov asks.

“Just a little complication.” Lucan hangs up, his body lowering to his leather chair. He powers up the desktop and pulls up the footage of the CCTV camera.

He knows the last time he held that ledger. It was around 12 noon yesterday. But he remembers putting it back. Whatever happened to the ledger took place in that time period.

“Fuck.” A curse breaks out of his lips.

The footage is gone. From noon yesterday until now.

It has been deleted. Wiped clean without a trace.

And there is only one reason this kind of reckless situation could have occurred.

His manor houses a foe.

One, if not two or more of his soldiers have betrayed him.

Chapter Eleven

Zev

The sharp echo of Zev’s zippo reverberates through the cramped room, a discordant whisper slithering through the silence.

Each metallic resonation grates against his patience, marking another wasted second, another moment the man before him refuses to speak the truth.

Click…. clunk…. click... clunk…

Flame dances onto the tip of the zippo when he switches it on, a ghostly wiggle of smoke when it goes off.

“Five,” click. “Four.” clunk. “Three.” click. “Two.” clunk.

“One.”

Tossing the golden zippo into his pocket, he uncrosses his legs then rises gently from the wooden chair he has been sitting on.

Towering over the familiar soldier, his six-foot-five frame causes the man to cower in fear.

But here is the harsh fact; even if he digs himself a hole and hides inside, he is not escaping death today…unless, of course, he throws loyalty out the window and gives Zev all the information he needs—why he snuck into their empire posed as one of their soldiers, only to break into the office and steal the key to his destruction; the ledger.

Zev needs to know who sent him for such a reckless job and what they promised him in return that he was ready to smear his loyalty to the Pythons.

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